The 2024 Winter Meetings from Dallas kicked off with a bang as the Mets landed Juan Soto on a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million deal on Sunday night. Several more big transactions followed, including Max Fried reaching a historic agreement with the Yankees and Garrett Crochet joining the Red Sox in a blockbuster trade.

But as the dust settles, some major Hot Stove questions remain unanswered.

Here¡¯s a breakdown of the offseason landscape coming out of the Winter Meetings, highlighting key storylines to watch, notable free agents still on the market and potential candidates to be traded.

Who are the top free agents left on the board?

Although we¡¯ve seen some significant deals already, a great deal of talent remains on the free-agent market, with 15 players from MLB.com senior reporter Mark Feinsand¡¯s rankings of the Top 25 free agents at the start of the offseason still available.

That includes 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, who stands alone in the elite tier of free-agent starters (at least among those with MLB experience) after Blake Snell signed with the Dodgers and Fried joined the Yankees.

Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki is available, too, after being posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball, though he isn¡¯t expected to pick a team until the 2025 international amateur signing period begins on Jan. 15. With international amateur signing bonus restrictions limiting the size of the contract the 23-year-old right-hander can seek, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise to see every MLB team make a run at him.

Other notable free-agent starters include Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, Walker Buehler, Jose Quintana, Nick Pivetta, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Charlie Morton.

The group of remaining free-agent position players is equally robust, even with Soto and shortstop Willy Adames gone. Still available are third baseman Alex Bregman; first basemen Pete Alonso and Christian Walker; outfielders Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar and infielders Ha-Seong Kim and Gleyber Torres, among many others.

Clubs in need of relief help also have a glut of options, including Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Kenley Jansen and Carlos Estévez.

You can see a full list of the available free agents and deals that have been reached this offseason right here. And for a team-by-team rundown of transactions, click here.

What are the key storylines to keep an eye on?

1. The trade market is percolating

With rumors swirling around a number of stars, the trade market might be just as interesting as the free-agent landscape, if not more so.

The availability of the Astros' Kyle Tucker became a hot topic at the Winter Meetings, and Feinsand hears that the outfielder is more likely than not to be traded. The Cubs are believed to be the favorites, per Feinsand, though the Yankees, Giants and Phillies also have been connected to the three-time All-Star, who can become a free agent next offseason.

Speaking of the Cubs and Yankees, they reportedly have been discussing a trade that would send Cody Bellinger to the Bronx. However, MLB Network insider Jon Heyman notes that there's a gap over how much money each side should have to cover in a potential Bellinger trade. Bellinger will earn $27.5 million in 2025 and has a $25 million player option ($5 million buyout) for 2026.

Nolan Arenado is another candidate to be dealt, with Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak saying he ¡°intends to try¡± to trade the third baseman. Arenado has three years and $74 million ($10 million of which will be paid by the Rockies) left on his contract, which includes a full no-trade clause. He has six teams on his list of preferred destinations but might be willing to consider other clubs that are in a position to win now.

Turning to the mound, there are several compelling starting pitchers who have been the subject of increased trade chatter lately and could receive even more attention now that Crochet's situation is resolved.

These include the Padres' Dylan Cease and the Astros' Framber Valdez, both controllable for one more season, and the Marlins' Jesús Luzardo, who has two years of team control remaining.

The Mariners' Luis Castillo and the Cardinals' Sonny Gray are two other intriguing trade candidates. Both pitchers are on long-term contracts -- Castillo's deal will pay him roughly $72 million over the next three years and includes a $25 million vesting option for 2028, while Gray is owed $60 million over the next two seasons and has a $25 million club option ($5 million buyout) for 2027.

2. Where will Burnes sign?

With an extensive track record as a frontline starter, Burnes is arguably the biggest difference-maker left on the free-agent market.

According to Feinsand, the Giants and Blue Jays are considered to be the frontrunners to sign the right-hander. The incumbent Orioles are still in the mix, too, as are the Red Sox -- despite their acquisition of Crochet. However, the belief among rival executives is that those two clubs might not be as aggressive as Toronto and/or San Francisco.

No matter where Burnes lands, it's expected to come with a hefty price tag. Multiple industry sources told Feinsand that they think Burnes will sign for at least $245 million, matching or exceeding the guaranteed total Stephen Strasburg received from the Nationals at the 2019 Winter Meetings. Strasburg¡¯s deal still stands as the third largest signed by a pitcher in baseball history, behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million) and Gerrit Cole (nine years, $324 million).

3. What will ¡®laser-focused¡¯ Yankees do next?

Landing Fried was a solid rebound for the Yankees after losing Soto to the Mets, but the reigning American League champions still have plenty of work ahead.

While bolstering the bullpen remains a need, addressing the offense should be the club¡¯s top priority. Soto¡¯s departure has left a crater-sized hole in the Yankees¡¯ lineup, and the team also has multiple infield vacancies.

The Yankees have been linked to a wide range of options, both in free agency (Bregman, Walker, Alonso, Hern¨¢ndez, Santander) and the trade market (Bellinger, Tucker, Arenado).

¡°We want to improve the team and feel really good about it. I¡¯m not there yet,¡± general manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday. ¡°There was a lot of waiting that took us up until the Winter Meetings on the Soto decision. Now we¡¯re going to continue doing what we always do. No retreat, no surrender. Just keep laser-focused on the task at hand, which is trying to find the best players you possibly can.¡±

4. Do the Mets have another big splash (or two) in mind?

No matter what they do from here, the Mets are going to go down as one of the big winners of the offseason. Signing Soto ensured that. New York has also added Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to its rotation, putting its total outlay on free agents over $800 million.

However, with Steve Cohen¡¯s deep pockets, further splurging can¡¯t be ruled out as the club looks to round out its roster.

The Mets have two obvious holes -- one at first base and one in their rotation -- and could turn to a pair of familiar faces to fill them.

The first is Alonso, a fan favorite who ranks third in franchise history with 226 homers, behind Darryl Strawberry (252) and David Wright (242). Although the 30-year-old first baseman is expected to command a nine-figure deal, the Mets haven¡¯t closed the door on a reunion.

After the Mets introduced Soto at Citi Field on Thursday, Cohen told reporters that his team is "still engaged" with Alonso, a Scott Boras client like Soto. "Hopefully, we'll get there," Cohen added.

Meanwhile, SNY¡¯s Andy Martino reported Monday that there was ¡°increasing optimism¡± about the Mets¡¯ chances of re-signing Manaea, who posted a 3.47 ERA with 184 strikeouts over 181 2/3 innings for the club in 2024 before opting out of the final year on his contract.

5. The Sasaki sweepstakes are underway

Although he isn¡¯t expected to make his decision until the 2025 international amateur signing period opens on Jan. 15, Sasaki¡¯s free-agent process is already in motion.

Teams across the Majors are lining up to make their best pitch to the 23-year-old, who is widely regarded as one of the most talented young pitchers in the world, with a fastball that touches 100 mph, a devastating splitter and an improving slider. The results have been just as impressive as his stuff, even with a slight downturn in 2024. Over four seasons with the Marines, he has recorded a 2.02 ERA with 524 strikeouts and 91 walks in 414 2/3 innings.

Unlike typical MLB free agents, money is not expected to be a predominant factor in the Sasaki sweepstakes. That¡¯s because foreign-born players who aren¡¯t at least 25 years of age and haven¡¯t played as a professional in a foreign league recognized by Major League Baseball for a minimum of six seasons are subject to international bonus pool money restrictions. Sasaki falls into that category now, as Shohei Ohtani did in 2017. Ohtani agreed to a $2.315 million signing bonus with the Angels that December.

Due to those restrictions, Sasaki is expected to attract attention from a wide range of suitors, some of whom normally wouldn't be involved in the bidding for a free agent of his caliber on the open market.

Sasaki must have a deal in place by Jan. 23. Otherwise, he will return to Chiba Lotte for the 2025 season.

Which teams need to make a big move?

We¡¯ve already covered all that the Yankees still need to do, but they are far from the only team whose offseason work is incomplete.

Staying in the AL East, the Red Sox and Blue Jays have also had to pivot after missing out on Soto. Boston (Crochet, Aroldis Chapman) and Toronto (Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez, Yimi García) have been busy, but they need to do more to become serious contenders. The pressure on the Blue Jays to act is particularly intense, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette both entering their final year under club control and their once-vaunted rotation starting to show signs of decline.

The Orioles¡¯ roster may be better off than those of the Red Sox and Blue Jays right now, but the additions of Tyler O'Neill and Gary Sánchez alone likely aren¡¯t going to be enough to get this team to the next level, following early exits from the playoffs in each of the past two years. The biggest question for the O¡¯s remains unchanged from the start of the offseason: How will they replace Burnes in their starting rotation?

The Astros earned their eighth consecutive postseason berth last season, but their remarkable streak of seven straight AL Championship Series appearances ended with a loss to the upstart Tigers in the AL Wild Card Series. With Bregman entering free agency this offseason and Tucker and Valdez set to follow next year, Houston faces significant uncertainty. Will the Astros make a bold move to shake things up?

Detroit's out-of-nowhere postseason run was a nice surprise for its fan base after nine seasons without a playoff berth, but the team needs to improve its flawed roster to build on that success. Let's not forget that the Tigers were eight games below .500 (55-63) entering play on Aug. 11 and finished the year well below the median mark in runs scored per game.

Speaking of teams that struggled to score in 2024, the Mariners¡¯ lackluster offense prevented them from reaching the postseason for the second straight year, despite boasting one of MLB¡¯s best rotations once again. The M¡¯s have certainly tried to address their offense, but little they¡¯ve done has worked out. Seattle needs to get it right to avoid squandering the golden opportunity of having four impressive young arms (Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo) under team control.

Over in the NL, the other 14 teams are trying to play catch-up with the defending World Series-champion Dodgers, who are well-positioned to repeat. The Senior Circuit just got even tougher after the Mets -- the NLCS runner-up -- landed Soto. That said, the Phillies, Braves and Padres are all in solid shape heading into 2025. And despite the loss of Adames, the Brewers might still be considered the favorites in a weak NL Central.

But while those six clubs are likely feeling good about their chances, the pressure is on three other teams that find themselves stuck in the middle, trying to close the gap between themselves and the league's elite. They are the Cubs, Giants and D-backs.

The D-backs were the best of those clubs with 89 wins last year, but they finished in third place in the NL West and could be facing the loss of three key hitters in free agency: Walker, Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk. The Giants signed Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract to fill their hole at shortstop, but they might still be the fourth-best team in the division. The Cubs, meanwhile, have missed the postseason in four straight years, topping out at 83 wins in that time. With Adames leaving Milwaukee and the Cardinals in a retooling phase, the NL Central could be there for the taking, but the North Siders need a big splash to capitalize.